from the so-how-do-you-deal-with-that? dept

For years, we've questioned the wisdom of straight-up "driving-while-yakking" legislation for a variety of reasons. It always seemed to strike at a symptom, and not the real problem, which is just outright bad driving. While some have falsely interpreted this to mean that we support free reign in letting people drive and talk on a phone, what we argued is more nuanced. The problem is when driving and talking makes things more dangerous. But the same could be true of driving and doing anything else -- and unless we're going to outlaw driving distractions one at a time, it's sort of missing the point. Instead, the focus should be on better driving education on the dangers of being distracted. But, at the same time, there should be a realization that it's not always a terrible thing for a driver to talk on a mobile phone.

In fact, Slashdot points us to a recent study that found a small number (a very small number) of people do not seem to drive worse while talking on their phones (and, in some cases, they even seem to drive better). These so-called "supertaskers" are apparently amazingly good at multitasking. Of course, this probably doesn't apply to you and you (yes, you) probably do drive worse while talking on a mobile phone -- which is why you shouldn't do it. But shouldn't we focus on stopping bad driving in general, rather than a blanket ban on driving while yakking?

from the i-can-take-care-of-myself-thanks dept

We've been told that driving while on a cell phone is bad, so is blackberrying while biking worse? Given how legislators are finding it necessary to pass laws forbidding cell phone use while driving, perhaps it's only a matter of time before we start seeing anti-berrying-while-biking laws as well. But, what's wrong with just leaving it to common sense? Back in the 80s, I remember reading about the Winnebiko, a recumbent bike fitted to the gills with electronics, in Popular Science. The Winnebiko was fitted with a chord keyboard on its handlebars, so its driver could type out magazine articles while he biked across the country. He seemed to be able to do that quite safely, so thank goodness nobody tried to tell him that it was unsafe. Let's leave some safety decisions in our own hands, please. I have faith that our my self preservation instincts will stop me from riding a bike while juggling chainsaws, so there's really no need to pass a law telling me that.